Pure Chocolate: Divine Desserts and Sweets from the Creator of Fran's Chocolates

Pure Chocolate: Divine Desserts and Sweets from the Creator of Fran's Chocolates
by Fran Bigelow, Helene Siegel

Pure Chocolate: Divine Desserts and Sweets from the Creator of Fran's Chocolates
Our Price: $48.90
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $17.99 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Fran Bigelow, Helene Siegel
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-10-26
ISBN: 0767916581
Number of pages: 248
Publisher: Clarkson Potter

Book Reviews of Pure Chocolate: Divine Desserts and Sweets from the Creator of Fran's Chocolates

Book Review: What chocolate heaven!!!
Summary: 5 Stars

Wow, wow, and wow!!!! I don't even know where to start with this incredible encyclopedia of chocolate!!! But as I am rarely without words regarding chocolate, let me begin!!

Fran bigelow knows her stuff........there are no two ways about it. She did not become a powerhouse by accident. She has worked hard for all the success that has come her way, and she has passed her love for this venue of gastronomic pleasure on to you, if you choose to take it.

Without getting too chemistry-like in her teaching, she tells you all about chocolate and how it wants to be handled. You can try to do it on yor own, but face it, chocolate can be very tempermental, and if you don't know the subtle complexities of its makeup, you will loose time and money. She will guide you if you just take the time to learn from one of the Masters.

The book contents are:

Introduction
Everything you need to know about chocolate
Amazing cookies and brownies
Tortes, with and without flour (for celiacs & gluten-sensitive)
Elegant tarts
Celebration cakes and holiday specialties
Sumptuous cheesecakes, puddings, and custards
Chilled spectaculars
Silken dessert sauces
Five beverages and a snack
Truffles and other fine chocolates
Building blocks
Sources
Index

Just for the sake of an example of what anyone can do, I tried the cake on page 107 called "La Reverie". Holy cow!! You would of thought that I had studied at the Cordon Bleu; it was fabulous and soooo not hard to make. Plus you will make so many new friends that you never knew you had.

She's the best and that's because she is a great teacher and the recipes don't require a degree in chemistry, architecure, or design. Go ahead and try

Summary of Pure Chocolate: Divine Desserts and Sweets from the Creator of Fran's Chocolates

The most stylish, approachable, and mouth-watering chocolate cookbook ever, from award-winning chocolatier Fran Bigelow

In 1982, Fran Bigelow proudly opened the doors to Fran?s Chocolates, a boutique storefront styled after European chocolate salons, where she could showcase the pure flavors of the exquisite confections she had spent years perfecting. Chocolate lovers in Seattle immediately beat a path to Madison Street to taste desserts as wonderful as anything in Paris or Belgium. Over the past two decades, Fran Bigelow has grown into a world-class chocolatier, operating two elegant shops that enjoy cult status in Seattle and beyond, by way of her mail-order and Internet business.

Now, in her debut cookbook, Fran reveals the magic behind her addictive creations: how she manipulates a few ingredients?butter, cream, eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, and nuts?to create sublime textures and highlight pure flavors in her elegant modern desserts. The seventy-five recipes included here range from extravagant celebration cakes and holiday specialties (White Chocolate Torte or Souffléd Chocolate Mocha Roll); to European style fruit and nut tarts (Chocolate Cherry Tart or Milk Chocolate Crème Fraîche Tart), soufflés, cheesecakes (White Chocolate Brie Cheesecake, a Fran specialty), homemade ice creams (Dark Chocolate and Ginger Bombe), and extraordinary renditions of American classics, including brownies, chocolate cookies, the ultimate hot fudge sauce, and a chocolate milkshake that will instantly transport you back to childhood.

Fran also tells you everything you need to know about chocolate, from the different styles of chocolate-making employed in Europe, South America, and the U.S. (and how each result in different flavors), to deciphering labels (which ingredients enhance meltability, for example), and how the amount of cocoa in different brands and styles of chocolate influences the final taste of a dessert. You will learn how to taste a truffle?preferably in two bites?and the language of chocolate ?signs,? the squiggles atop candies. Recipes for some of Fran?s award-winning confections are also included here: chocolate cherries and nut clusters; chocolate stuffed fruits; easy cocoa-dusted truffles; and more ambitious dipped truffles featuring liqueurs, coffee, vanilla, and other chocolate-friendly ingredients; and chocolate fondue, a perfect party dessert for children and adults alike.

Whether you are a cocoa connoisseur or devotee of the cacao bean with cravings that won?t quit, Pure Chocolate is a must-have for any chocolate aficionado.


A history of chocolate in Seattle predated the opening of Fran's some 20 years ago. But Fran Bigelow single-handedly altered the entire landscape. She had meant to open a pastry shop and discovered that truffles were among the deep dark concerns of Seattle residents. Her Gold Bar became a gold standard for adult candy bars, in Seattle and then across the nation. Fran Bigelow would never claim the renown she so deserves, but would instead most likely spread the credit around like a chocolate butter glaze on one of her earth shattering cakes. But the proof is in the pudding and the pudding--called Princess Pudding--can be found on page 140 of Pure Chocolate, Fran Bigleow's distillation of all she knows. She holds nothing back. She shares freely, confidently.

"If you are patient and understand its unique properties," Bigelow says in her introduction, Everything You Need to Know About Chocolate, "chocolate will repay you with the most perfect pleasure." Can you imagine? Perfect pleasure? Bigelow unlocks the secrets, one after another. She cautions all along, however, that patience is essential. "If you're one of those folks who thinks life is too short to stuff cherry tomatoes," Bigelow intones, "you may not have the patience for tempering chocolate." She establishes up front the basic rules of working with chocolate, then proceeds to act like best friend and coach in each and every recipe. The experienced baker and chocolatier may jump right in. For the new comer, Fran suggests those recipes that are easiest to master and act as building blocks for more complex procedures. Your results, in other words, are guaranteed.

In 10 chapters Bigelow moves from cookies and brownies (you may think you know brownies; you may want to reconsider), through tortes, tarts, cakes, cheesecakes, puddings, and custards. Pure Chocolate is worth its weight if only for the chapter on ice cream and sorbet. There are glorious sauces and delicious chocolate drinks. And finally, the chapter on truffles that begins with the introduction to tempering chocolate, one of the great mysteries on the kitchen.

Seattle learned 20 years ago that all it thought it knew about chocolate had to be relearned over and over again with return after return to Fran's. That this fabulous experience has been packed in between two covers and sent home to the diligent cook, well, that's Fran Bigelow right there, sharing all she knows. --Schuyler Ingle

Chocolate Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Chocolate Books
Fantasy Chocolate Desserts ImageFantasy Chocolate Desserts
by Robert Lambert
Chronicle Books; Published: 1988-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.00
Price in other shops: $14.95
The Magnet Gourmet Chocolate Cookbook ImageThe Magnet Gourmet Chocolate Cookbook
by Inc Staff Sterling Publishing Compa
Sterling Pub Co Inc; Published: 1997-10; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops: $4.95
Chocolate ImageChocolate
Book Sales; Published: 1994-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $24.00
Chocolate: 2010 Mini Day-to-Day Calendar ImageChocolate: 2010 Mini Day-to-Day Calendar
by LLC Andrews McMeel Publishing
Andrews McMeel Publishing; Published: 2009-07-15; Calendar; Book
Best price: $35.99
Chocolate: 2009 Mini Day-to-Day Calendar ImageChocolate: 2009 Mini Day-to-Day Calendar
by LLC Andrews McMeel Publishing
Andrews McMeel Publishing; Published: 2008-07-01; Calendar; Book
Best price: $25.07
Chocolate 2007 Mini Day-to-Day Calendar ImageChocolate 2007 Mini Day-to-Day Calendar
by LLC Andrews McMeel Publishing
Andrews McMeel Publishing; Published: 2006-07-01; Calendar; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops: $7.99
Chocolate Passion: Recipes and Inspiration from the Kitchens of Chocolatier Magazine ImageChocolate Passion: Recipes and Inspiration from the Kitchens of Chocolatier Magazine
by Tish Boyle, Timothy Moriarty
Wiley; Published: 1999-10-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $16.39
Price in other shops: $50.00
Chocolates and Confections Instructor's Manual ImageChocolates and Confections Instructor's Manual
by CIA
Hungry Minds Inc,U.S.; Published: 2007-04-11; Paperback; Book
A Year in Chocolate: Four Seasons of Unforgettable Desserts ImageA Year in Chocolate: Four Seasons of Unforgettable Desserts
by Alice Medrich
Warner Books; Published: 2001-10-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.97
Price in other shops: $25.95
Chocolate and Vanilla ImageChocolate and Vanilla
by Gale Gand, Lisa Weiss
Clarkson Potter; Published: 2006-10-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.80
Price in other shops: $22.50
Similar Books and other products
Chocolates and Confections at Home with The Culinary Institute of America ImageChocolates and Confections at Home with The Culinary Institute of America
by Peter P. Greweling, The Culinary Institute of America
Wiley; Published: 2009-12-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.87
Price in other shops: $34.95
Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home ImageJeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home
by Jeni Britton Bauer
Artisan; Published: 2011-06-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.86
Price in other shops: $23.95
The Secrets of Baking: Simple Techniques for Sophisticated Desserts ImageThe Secrets of Baking: Simple Techniques for Sophisticated Desserts
by Sherry Yard
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Published: 2003-11-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $24.40
Price in other shops: $35.95
Absolutely Chocolate: Irresistible Excuses to Indulge ImageAbsolutely Chocolate: Irresistible Excuses to Indulge
Taunton Press; Published: 2009-10-20; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $17.99
Price in other shops: $29.95
Tartine ImageTartine
by Elisabeth Prueitt, Chad Robertson
Chronicle Books; Published: 2006-08-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $22.09
Price in other shops: $35.00
Rose's Heavenly Cakes ImageRose's Heavenly Cakes
by Rose Levy Beranbaum
Rose Levy Beranbaum; Wiley; Published: 2009-09-22; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.94
Price in other shops: $39.95
The Art of the Chocolatier: From Classic Confections to Sensational Showpieces ImageThe Art of the Chocolatier: From Classic Confections to Sensational Showpieces
by Ewald Notter
Wiley; Published: 2011-01-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $39.45
Price in other shops: $65.00
Chocolate Obsession: Confections and Treats to Create and Savor ImageChocolate Obsession: Confections and Treats to Create and Savor
by Michael Recchiuti, Fran Gage
Stewart, Tabori and Chang; Published: 2005-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops: $40.00
Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique for the Artisan Confectioner ImageChocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique for the Artisan Confectioner
by Peter P. Greweling, The Culinary Institute of America
Wiley; Published: 2007-03-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $36.78
Price in other shops: $65.00
Making Artisan Chocolates ImageMaking Artisan Chocolates
by Andrew Garrison Shotts
Quarry Books; Published: 2007-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.11
Price in other shops: $24.99
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories